In Pictures: Nature Photography Day

by Mariah De Los Santos

June 15, 2020

June 15th marks Nature Photography Day, and here at Greenpeace, we’re highlighting the crucial role that photography plays in the environmental movement by allowing us to tell stories, convey emotion, and compel action in a language that everyone understands.

Right now, many of us are living through a period of unprecedented turbulence. As we call for action and justice for the most vulnerable in our societies, thoughts are already beginning to turn to how we step into the next phase of human history. In this time of uncertainty, I know how important it is to remember to stop, breathe, and appreciate the life around you. So that’s why I’ve compiled a small selection of iconic Greenpeace images that I hope will bring some joy and inspiration into your life — if even for a moment. Enjoy!

Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) in Canadian boreal forest. These tiny birds can beat their wings more than 50 times per second. Despite their size, they migrate from Central America to Canadian forests each year.

Ice sculpture in the Arctic.

Documentation of landcover of Southern Papua.

Schooling fish swim over a coral reef. Once having the highest income per capita in the Pacific, Nauru’s economy and environment collapsed after decades of phosphate mining had been depleted. With virtually nothing more to trade, the island nation is staking its hopes on protection of fisheries in its waters and the nearby international waters.

Elephants in the Masai Mara Savanna, Kenya, Africa.

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish.
A selection of deep sea creatures that are found in the Arctic. The animals were documented by marine biologist, explorer and underwater photographer Alexander Semenov, head of the divers’ team at Moscow State University’s White Sea biological station.

Haller forest in Belgium. Common Bluebell (Hyacinthoides) in beech forest.

A walrus relaxes atop an ice floe with Sjettebreen glacier on the background in Svalbard. The Esperanza and Arctic Sunrise are in Svalbard on the first leg of one of Greenpeace’s biggest ever expeditions: an almost year-long pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic, to highlight the many threats facing the oceans.

Northern lights at Lake Inari in North Finland.

Achiote (Bixa orellana), fruit known for the red paint it provides, near the Tapajós river, next to Sawré Muybu Indigenous Land, home to the Munduruku people, Pará state, Brazil.

From a bird’s-eye view and the darkest, deepest oceans, to forest fires and flooded towns, photography has come a long way in driving environmental activism and bearing witness to the changing world. These incredible photographers are telling the stories of their own communities, breaking the silence about underreported crises, and inspiring us to fight for a better planet for us all.

We’ve captured many moving and captivating moments within Greenpeace. Together we have inspired and created real change, and we have many victories to be proud of. We have also captured serious challenges which threaten everything we fight for. Despite this, we have and will continue alongside the millions of you who choose to stand with us in the fight for a just, green, and peaceful world.

Mariah De Los Santos

By Mariah De Los Santos

Mariah is the Online Content Associate at Greenpeace USA, based in Washington D.C.

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